Note: I own nothing. Takes place between Jak 2 and 3.

This is a sequel to Gamblers and Seekers, though you can probably read it on its own. It'll make more sense if you read G&S first, though.

Thanks to the people who reviewed and gave positive feedback on the last story! Sorry, no sex in this one. There is going to be at least one more story in this series, where Jak makes good on that remark he made to Jinx at the end of G&S. It may take a while, though.

Daxter was worried. That, and pissed.

About two weeks ago, Jak had started showing up to the bar less and less, which wasn't a problem by itself. Honestly, for the first couple of days, Daxter had been kind of happy about it—he wanted to know that Jak had people to hang out with and places to be.

That sounded bad, now that he thought about it. Like he didn't want Jak around, and that wasn't true.

When he had started spending more time at the Ottsel and with Tess, he had been thinking about his future. And realistically, he thought he and Jak, in the future, might have more separate lives than they had during the rebellion.

Jak was a hero; he was going to go on to great things no matter what. But Daxter didn't know if he would always be able to follow, or always be wanted. His plan, therefore, had been to take over the bar and secure something that was his.

When Tess had come into the picture—like, really come into the picture, offering to help Daxter remake and run the bar after the war—he had to admit, he withdrew from Jak in order to get closer with Tess.

But Daxter was beginning to realize that he hadn't explained any of this to Jak. For the first time in their lives, maybe there was something about their relationship that he needed to put into words.

And he was also beginning to realize that maybe he'd made a mistake taking a few steps back from his friend in the first place. By now, he had figured out that he could still be close with Jak and Tess at the same time. But he was also really worried about what Jak had been getting up to while they were becoming more separate.

He'd still been showing up to help Daxter and Tess out, of course. But he'd been pulling up his collar for the last week and a half, and Daxter could only conclude that that meant he had certain marks to hide.

He and Tess had begun to speculate—not in a malicious or gossipy way, but out of friendly interest and concern.

Then a few of Torn's soldiers—former members of the Underground and regulars at the bar since before it had been the Naughty Ottsel—had unexpectedly given them a few hints.

"Yeah, man, did you hear Commander Torn actually went over to Jinx's apartment and chewed out him and Jak? Glad I'm not them right about now; he gave them extra missions as punishment."

"I thought he gave Jak a day off?"

"Well, yeah, he almost got himself killed in the sewers, from what I hear. Sounds like the guy's exhausted."

"Wait, wait, back up. What made him pissed at Jinx and Jak?"

"They just didn't report in after they had a mission in the sewers. He didn't hear from them until he went and found them in Jinx's apartment."

Daxter, who had been tuning in since Jak's name was mentioned, was becoming more and more alarmed by the second. He almost spilled the drink he was pouring when he heard about Jak getting in trouble in the sewers, but managed to give the beer a perfect head anyway. I'm just that good.

When he glanced over at Tess, she was giving him a concerned look. Then she picked up a round of drinks and brought them over to the soldiers' table.

"Hey you three! Good to see you! Another round?"

"Of course, Tess. Thanks."

It was pretty well known among the men and women who had served in the Underground that Tess saw Torn as a brother, and that she felt responsible for taking care of him when she could. And it wasn't strange for her to ask after him, especially now that she wasn't working for him anymore.

"Sam, you said Torn's upset about something?"

"Oh, Tess, you don't have to worry about it. He was mad at Jak and Jinx for not reporting in for over 12 hours after their mission was completed. Pretty justified, I think. It'll blow over."

"Oh! Are Jak and Jinx alright?"

"Yeah, that's why he was mad," Martina said. "They had no reason not to report in. At least, as far as we know—this is all secondhand information."

"It sounds like they worked it out already, actually," Cale said. "I think he gave Jak the day off last week. From what I heard, Torn's really been working Jak to the limit. Maybe that's why he didn't call in."

"Yeah, maybe he just went over to Jinx's place to take care of his injuries and passed out," Martina said.

"Oh, maybe. I hope he's doing alright. I've got to get back to it, but let me know if you need anything!"

"Will do, Tess! Thanks!"

She attended to a few more customers before making her way over to Daxter.

"Daxxie, you OK?"

"Of course, sweetcheeks!" He really wasn't alright, but Dax only planned on admitting that to her in private. "Just keeping this place hoppin'—we got a lot of customers to take care of, baby! Business is booming!"

She smiled and nodded. "It's cause you're the greatest, Daxxie!"

"Obviously!"

He kept up his bravado until service was over around three am—no surprise there. If he could remain witty and casual on Jak's shoulder while they were being shot at, he could definitely rein in his worry for the guy while entertaining customers.

After they had locked up and cleaned the tables, he hopped on Tess' shoulder and they headed upstairs. Tess had a tiny room over the Ottsel, and Daxter had taken to sleeping in the drawer on her nightstand, padded with shirts (and lingerie, of course).

"Daxxie. What's going on with Jak?"

"I don't know."

"That's the problem."

"Tess, babe, I'm not following."

"You always know what's going on with him. Or you used to. You guys have barely been spending time together, and he's always the one that comes to you. You're off without him, Daxxie."

"…I know. I was thinkin' about it. They said he almost got killed, Tess."

"But he didn't. And he wasn't alone."

"But I wasn't the one with 'im."

"Daxxie…"

"I let 'im down, Tess. I thought maybe…I would have the bar and then if he ever was going to get bigger than all this, if he was gonna go where I couldn't follow…"

"You're scared of him leaving you, so you left him first. You need to talk to him. You guys are better together, you know?"

"Yeah. I think this one's on me, Tess. I gotta fix it. And ask him why in the hell he's hanging out with Jinx, of all people. If that's who he's been sleeping with, I swear, I'm gonna give him a piece of my mind. And I'm gonna kill Jinx. If that guy really thinks he's good enough for Jak, he's got another thing comin'."

"Jinx isn't so bad."

"I'll believe it when I see it."

Jak had been certain that Daxter hadn't caught on.

Really, Dax was the one who kept blowing him off for Tess. And Jak was happy for him, he was, but he was still an 18-year-old with close to zero friends, and he couldn't stop himself from resenting the ottsel.

That said, he couldn't be mad anymore, given that the distance Daxter had put between them had led him to Torn. Whatever was happening between them, Jak was definitely enjoying it. It was a little tricky, being close to the commander—in public, Torn treated him like always, and Jak followed suit. The older man explained that he didn't want to it to seem like he was playing favorites among his soldiers, and besides, the two of them didn't even know what was going on between them. Did they really want the whole city to know?

Jak had to agree, though there had been a few times where his fingers had twitched with the effort not to reach out and grab his—lover? Boyfriend? Partner?

Torn, naturally, had noticed, and given him that smug fucking smirk. And then later, when they were alone, worked Jak's sexual frustration into some fantastic dirty talk. (And that voice…)

Apparently, Torn wasn't the only one who'd noticed something.

Daxter was standing in front of him, arms crossed and foot tapping. Up to this point, it had been a great conversation—Dax had explained, apologized for what had been going on, and Jak was infinitely grateful.

"Dax, you know I'd never leave you behind. And how could I, anyway—I thought I was the sidekick?"

But now, Dax had asked what he'd been up to for the last two weeks. With a pointed glance at Jak's throat.

Jak honestly hadn't been surprised that Torn was a biter. When the younger man had complained about having to hide the marks, though, his partner had just rolled his eyes and told him to "figure it out, Jak." And as much as the man in question wanted to continue protesting, it wasn't like he actually wanted Torn to stop biting.

"Um…I don't know what you're talking about Dax," he said, but it was a weak lie and they both knew it.

"Is it Jinx?"

"No! Is that what people are saying? Because I stayed at his place?"

"Jak. Buddy. It ain't a hard conclusion to draw."

"It's not Jinx."

"So you are sleepin' with somebody. I'm glad y're getting' some buddy, really, it's about damn time. Ya could use the stress relief." Jak's face was turning about as red as his scarf. "I jus' wanna know that y're not with some creep."

"Define 'creep.'"

Daxter's eyes narrowed. Apparently, his usual humor had evaporated in the face of his concern about his friend, and he was not amused by Jak's evasion. The blonde would have been touched if he hadn't felt so awkward about everything.

"Look, Dax, you just—you won't like it, OK? Can we just—"

"Tell me, or I'll have to guess. Is it Mog? Grim? Brutter? Torn?"

Dax had clearly been joking, but he saw something in Jak's expression immediately. The ottsel's face fell; Jak stood up, unable to sit still any longer.

"Dax, don't freak out—"

"What do you mean, don't freak out?! Of course I'm freaking out! You decided to go for the biggest asshole left in Haven post-Praxis, who sounds like he gargles with nails every morning, who has a terrible sense of humor—"

"Hey, he has a great sense of humor. And he is kind of an asshole sometimes, but I sort of like him for it."

"What did he do to you?!"

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"I mean, the why in the hell of all this is escaping me! What did he do to you to get you to sleep with him? Is he forcing you—"

"I started it, OK, Dax?!" Jak could feel fury boiling under his skin—he'd known Dax would react badly, but not this badly.

I have to get out of here before I say something I regret.

Now he was taking the steps two at a time down to the main floor of the Naughty Ottsel. Tess was cleaning glasses behind the bar, but the worried look on her face told him that she'd at least heard them yelling, if not the substance of the conversation. He didn't let her say anything to him, almost running out of the bar.

Had he ever had a fight with Daxter? Not a verbal one, certainly. He wasn't just angry, he was actually saddened about what Dax thought of Torn.

Speaking of Torn, Jak realized he was walking to Freedom HQ. It wasn't like he had anywhere else to go. But was it a good idea to go there feeling like this? Was his…whatever…with Torn advanced enough that he could actually expect Torn to help him out with feelings?

He's seen me angry before. And I know he cares about me. I just…really shouldn't be alone when I'm this upset.

With renewed resolve, Jak jogged over to HQ. Torn was, predictably, looking at a map. He glanced up as Jak came in and immediately looked alarmed.

Seriously, how can everybody tell what I'm thinking just by looking at me? I really need to work on this.

The blonde shook his head, trying to communicate that there wasn't an emergency. "It's…don't worry about it. Bad day."

Torn waved him over. "You sure?" he asked quietly. Jak nodded. "We'll talk tonight, then."

"I'll just be around here then. Unless you have anything I can do."

His sort-of boyfriend eyed him. "You up for running something over to one of the FL outposts on the east side?"

"Sure."

Torn stretched, trying to work out a kink in his back. He was going on ten hours of work for the day—fewer than normal. He suspected Jak was waiting for him in his quarters, though, and it wasn't like he hadn't earned a few extra hours of rest over these last few months. Ashelin had been giving him that concerned-sister look lately, and Martina had tipped him off that Tess was asking after him again. Personally, he didn't think there was cause to worry, but maybe taking it slightly easier would make them less anxious about him.

And then there was Jak, who'd practically run to him earlier today looking like he might cry.

He had just started down the hallway to his room when Tess materialized out of an alcove to his right. Torn was definitely not startled. At all.

"Torn? Can I talk to you for a second?"

"Of course. You OK?"

"Oh yeah, I'm fine! But we probably shouldn't talk here…"

Torn nodded. His quarters were out, since he suspected they were occupied, but there were a few smaller rooms off of Freedom HQ's main chamber. He guided Tess to one and leaned up against a wall, waiting.

"It's about Jak."

Torn's eyes narrowed. "What about him? Did something happen today?"

"He got into a fight with Daxter," Tess said, wringing her hands a bit. "Dax and I were a little worried about him, and we noticed that he was…with someone. So Daxter confronted him about it and didn't take it well at all when he found out it was you. That put Jak on the defensive and he stormed out. I just thought you should know. Did he come here?"

"Yeah, he ran in today looking upset. He asked me to give him something to do, but I told him we'd talk later."

"Oooh. So that's why you didn't take me to your quarters." Tess' eyes had a glint to them that made Torn a little nervous. "It's going well for you guys, then?"

"Tess. I am not having this conversation with you. It's like talking about sex with my little sister."

Tess giggled. "Well, I'm happy for you, and I hope it works out. If you ever do need someone to talk to, I don't tell Daxxie everything I hear. But be ready for a shovel talk from him."

Torn rolled his eyes heavenward. Precursors, give me strength.

"Well, I'll let you take care of your boyfriend. One more thing: you need a break, or at least to stop working yourself into an early grave." She bounced up to plant a kiss on Torn's cheek. "See you later, Torn!"

Torn gave her a small smile, shaking his head good-naturedly as she walked away.

As he walked towards his quarters, and presumably Jak, he mulled over what Tess had said. Jak had gotten into a fight with his best friend—over Torn.

What the hell did Daxter say that made him that angry? About me? I can't imagine.

When he opened the door to his room, the blonde was sprawled on his back on the bed. He propped himself up on his elbows as the commander walked in. "Hey, Torn."

"Jak. You OK?"

The kid was obviously debating what to tell him. "Can you ask a less complicated question?"

Torn perched on the edge of the bed, reaching out to stroke blonde hair. Blue eyes closed and Jak pushed up into his hand with a soft noise.

They sat in silence for a few minutes. It felt new, this peaceful companionship, but Torn thought he could get used to it.

"Tess told me about your fight with Daxter. You wanna talk about it?"

Jak tensed, but Torn didn't retract the question. He scratched lightly at Jak's scalp with blunt fingernails.

"Nngh. Feels good…hard to concentrate." Torn stopped.

"Look, Dax wanted to know who I was sleeping with. He thought it was Jinx." Jak's eyes flickered over to him, gauging his reaction—the older man was scowling. Torn gestured for him to go on, but the dark expression didn't leave.

"He just started naming names—ridiculous ones, but then you, and I guess my expression changed or something, and he realized that it was you, and he lost it." Jak sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "It wasn't just that he doesn't like you, it was…he said you must have…"

"What, Jak?" Torn reached out to him again, unsure of how to proceed. This really wasn't his department, but he cared far too much about the blonde not to try and comfort him.

"He said you must have done something bad to me, to get me to sleep with you. Like you forced me into it, and that was why I got pissed. I left before I could say anything I'd regret, and that was it."

Torn was fuming. He'd known Daxter didn't like him—the feeling was mutual—but to imply something like that was way beyond what he was willing to put up with. And it was really an insult to Jak's competence if Daxter thought he couldn't have a healthy relationship with someone without being forced into it.

He realized Jak was watching him, and took a deep breath. "You really got that mad over me? I'm touched."

Jak's lips twitched. "Yeah, just defending your honor." He scooted over and planted himself in Torn's lap.

"Can I stay here tonight?"

"You don't need to ask."

Jak relaxed into him, nuzzling into the older man's neck and planting a kiss there.

"Kid, not that I don't like you there, but I need a shower. You're welcome to join, or not."

"Don't call me 'kid'." But the blonde detached himself and started to undress, and he followed Torn into the bathroom.

"Daxxie. You overreacted."

Daxter didn't reply, focusing hard on the glass he was cleaning.

Tess put her hands on her hips. "You need to go and fix this."

"I still don't like it," he mumbled sullenly.

Tess' eyes narrowed. If Daxter had learned anything working with her in the last few months, it was that she had a long fuse—but when it blew, it was time to hide.

"Alright! I'll go over 'n find 'im."

Tess brightened immediately. "That's my brave hero!"

Tess gave him a ride over to Freedom HQ. Daxter didn't even know if Jak was there, but it was the most likely choice.

It had been two days since his fight with Jak, and Daxter had been miserable. He didn't like Torn and probably never would, but deep down he knew that he had taken it too far. Had Jak said something similar about Tess, Dax knew he wouldn't have reacted any better.

The ottsel padded into the HQ, and was greeted by a few of the soldiers he and Jak had met over the past year. One told him Jak had been sent out on a mission a few hours ago and would probably get back before the end of the day, so Dax settled in to wait. Unfortunately for him, somebody had apparently tipped Torn off that he was here.

"Rat. Step into my office."

Torn didn't actually have an office outside of the central room of HQ, but the ottsel got what he meant. They ended up in a room that looked like it was being used as an armory. Daxter idly wondered if he could steal a few of these guns for Tess.

"I'm guessing you're here for Jak."

"Righto, Tattooed Wonder. Any other obvious things you wanna cover while we're here?"

"Yeah, yeah, I don't like you either, rodent. I just want you to know that I'm not giving up on Jak, and I would really appreciate if you wouldn't imply that I'm forcing myself on him. And make up with him, for fuck's sake. For reasons I can't understand, he's miserable without you. So just fucking fix it so you two can move on."

Daxter's eyes widened. "Let me get this straight. You're actually telling me that you want me to be around him more?"

"He'd be happier if you were, so yeah, I would." Torn sighed heavily. "And if Tess, one of the smartest women I know, likes you, then there must be something good about you. I'll never see it, but…"

Daxter gaped at him. Torn rolled his eyes and turned to leave.

"Look, for what it's worth, I'm sorry for what I said about ya. I came ta apologize ta Jak. Fer reasons I can't understand, he's miserable without ya." Torn raised a brow as his own words were repeated back to him. "And if Tess, one of the smartest women I know, likes ya, then there must be somethin' good about ya."

"So we have an understanding?"

"As long as I don't have to like ya."

"I'll try to survive without your approval." But Torn was smirking, and Dax found himself trying not to be amused by his response.

"Jak should be back soon; I'll send him in here. Don't screw this up, Daxter."

"Dax." Jak leaned his left hip against the wall and crossed him arms.

"I'm sorry."

Dax was a little sad when he saw how surprised Jak was by the comment—he obviously hadn't been expecting an apology.

"I took it too far, and while I still think ya have terrible taste in men, if you like being with him, then well, it's none of my business. Now, if ya don't mind, I think we should be friends again, because ya obviously need me."

Jak grinned. "Was it that obvious? Apology accepted, Dax."

"Yeah, yeah. Let's head to the bar so you can rest up, and don't think y're getting' outta confessin' how this happened…"